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At the Central Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of Interior and Administration in Warsaw, next week, the first patients with COVID-19 disease will be transfused with plasma from convalescents. The doctors of the experimental therapy will initially treat 100 people.
The Warsaw hospital will be the first in Poland to treat convalescents with plasma
Shortly after Christmas, the recruitment of convalescents who have suffered from the coronavirus infection and want to donate blood to help in the treatment of other infected began. Specialists from the Hospital of the Ministry of Interior and Administration in Warsaw, under the supervision of prof. dr hab. n. med. Grażyna Rydzewska, began to test a promising method that gives hope to accelerate the fight against the epidemic. “This is a typical project of passive immunization, i.e. when someone recovered, it means that they have antibodies and we can transfer them to sick people in order to prevent a more severe course of the disease” – said Prof. Rydzewska in an interview with “Health Policy”.
This type of therapy in people infected with coronavirus has already been used in other countries, including in China, the United States and Italy. There has been a single scientific report about its effectiveness. Plasma transfusion is not a new method of treatment, it has been used for many years. It has been used in other epidemics: SARS, MERS, and Ebola.
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A few days ago, prof. Wiesław Jędrzejczak, hematologist from the Department and Clinic of Hematology, Oncology and Internal Diseases of the Medical University of Warsaw, explained on TVN24 that a person infected with the virus produces immune proteins (antibodies) found in plasma during recovery. If such plasma is transfused to a sick person, he or she will receive a certain amount of antibodies that can inactivate the virus.
The survey will answer many questions
The project of Warsaw doctors was developed a few weeks ago and started after obtaining approval from the bioethics committee. Specialists want to determine to what extent the therapy will be effective, at what stage of the disease development it is best to apply it and in which patients it brings the best results.
– Work at the site in Shenzhen, China shows that plasma has a therapeutic effect only in a certain titer of these antibodies. We want to determine exactly when this plasma works best and for which group of patients it is best used to determine the correct use of this therapy during this epidemic – explained the drug in an interview with PAP. Adam Tworek belonging to the research team of prof. Rydzewska.
An additional complication is the fact that not all healers have antibodies. This information was recently confirmed by the World Health Organization.
- Read more: WHO: Not all coronavirus cured have antibodies and are immune to new infection
Not all healers can donate plasma. What are the criteria?
A healed person who reports to a blood donation station will have plasma collected (using a separator), and then this plasma will be transfused to a patient lying in the hospital at risk of a more severe course of the disease. The plasma donor and recipient must match in terms of blood type.
Unfortunately, donors cannot be all willing healers, of whom, according to current data, we have nearly 800 in Poland. Of course, only people who were first diagnosed with COVID-19 disease are eligible to participate in the project, and then their cure was confirmed. two negative SARS-CoV-2 test results from materials collected at least 24 hours apart (nasopharyngeal swabs). It is also necessary to meet additional health conditions. In addition, as we read in the statement of the Ministry of Interior and Administration Hospital, only men who weigh no less than 50 kg, are adults and are under 65 are eligible to participate in the project.
Why only men? The hospital explains: “In the initial phase of our study, we want to collect plasma from men because of the lower risk of TRALI (acute post-transfusion lung injury). The inclusion criteria may change with the duration of the study ».
To donate plasma, please call the phone number +48 515 633 105 between 10.00-18.00 or send an e-mail to [email protected] Plasma is collected at the Center for Blood Donation and Blood Treatment (CKiK) of the Central Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of Interior and Administration at ul. Wołoska 137 in Warsaw.
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Have a question about the coronavirus? Send them to the following address: [email protected]. You will find a daily updated list of answers HERE: Coronavirus – frequently asked questions and answers.